Report on Arena Effort Released; No New Taxes among Guiding Principles

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Downtown Plaza has long been one of the areas talked about in new arena discussions. The downtown railyards have also been discussed.

SACRAMENTO—

After announcing over the weekend that Sacramento’s city manager will ask City Council for permission to begin arena financing negotiations, a staff report detailing the principles of a possible deal has been released.

The report also runs through the timeline of events since mid-January’s news of the possible Kings sale to a Seattle-based investment group – and how Mayor Kevin Johnson has tried to find an ownership group willing to buy the team and keep them in Sacramento.

Among the principles outlined in the report for a new arena are: making sure the new arena is located downtown, protecting the taxpayers by not increasing taxes in order to fund the arena, and making sure the project is a public-private partnership.

Further, the city manager will ask for $150,000 from the council in order to continue the negotiations with the potential investors.

The report notes how the Kings’ existing arena in Natomas is outdated, but that the area will still be targeted for economic reuse.